Citizens Advice is calling for a ban on subscription auto-renewals after finding that many people had been lured in with a free trial and then forgotten to cancel. Worryingly, new research from the charity discovered that consumers have spent half a billion pounds in the last year on subscriptions that automatically renewed - without them realising.
Citizens Advice said the way in which people are being sold subscriptions includes techniques such as luring people in with a free trial - after which many do not remember to cancel - and burying future costs and exit fees in the small print of terms and conditions. One in five who tried to cancel a subscription found it difficult to do so, with a third only wanting a free trial in the first place.
The UK Government has announced plans to tackle subscription traps with reminders sent at the end of free trials and at the point of renewal, but Citizens Advice said it wants a complete ban of automatic renewals.